


Best Friend's Brother

by cemeterybat



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Basement Gerard Way, Fluff and Smut, High School, M/M, Punk Frank Iero, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-16 00:42:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cemeterybat/pseuds/cemeterybat
Summary: Picture this: a cliche of a high school kid falling for his best friend’s brother. It’s exactly how it sounds, and I imagine you can predict what happens from there. So enjoy my mediocre, predictable story.





	1. Chapter 1

Today was the official start of summer in Jersey, and the heat was harsh enough that one discarded cigarette could’ve started a fire across town. The air conditioning in the Iero home was on its last weeks- days even- sputtering out the occasional breath of cool air once every few hours. Frank and his mother were the only ones who occupied the house, and his mom’s bi-weekly paycheck barely paid the mortgage and groceries to fill the fridge. Air conditioning was a casualty they could live without. With Mikey just down the street, Frank found it easier to spend his days at his best friend’s house, that was consistently at a temperature of 65°.

 

Him and Mikey had plans to drink beers stolen from Mikey’s parents’ fridge and play Xbox till their eyes rotted from their skulls. The usual. Except Frank had maybe spent too long getting dressed before heading over to the Way’s, trying on a few too many band tshirts and ripped jeans. Mikey had mentioned his brother was home from college today, and planned to spend the summer back in New Jersey with his family. Frank knew he should at least feel guilty on some level for fancying his best friend’s brother, but Mikey had been trying to get Frank to find a boyfriend for months now, and maybe he wouldn’t be too upset if it was his own brother?

 

Frank had shook his head as if to shake away the thoughts, and quickly threw a jacket on before heading over to Mikey’s, letting himself in.

 

The house was eclectic, to say in the least. Odd portraits of people that weren’t family or friends hung in antique frames. Plastic flowers stood stiff in dusty crystalline formations. Mikey was in the living room, the door creaking a familiar sound. “Hey, Frank,” he greeted, only pausing to push his glasses up his nose. “Gerard is in the basement again so we can’t go down there,” he said, “he’s being weird or whatever. That moping thing he does.” And it was the truth. Gerard had claimed his basement room again, and placed candles around instead of electrical lighting. Thrown heaps of clothes everywhere. Scattered his drawings and markers and pencils with reckless abandon, and then thrown himself into an unmade bed wearing pajamas that hadn’t been washed in days. “It’s the usual,” Mikey sighed.

 

Frank plopped down on the couch beside Mikey, rested his feet on the coffee table and reached for a game controller. “So your brother’s been home a day and already he’s stolen our smoking spot?” Frank raised an eyebrow with an exaggerated sigh. “I assume he’s taken back his Xbox, too?” he guessed, looking towards the basement to find the door shut, and Frank doubted he would see it open all night.

 

Mikey huffed, the breath moving his hair from his line of sight momentarily. “Yeah. He’s kind of an asshole,” he explained. “He said he’d get us some beer though, whenever he goes out again,” he said. “But I don’t even know how he’s getting it, because he’s only 19. So, whatever,” Mikey said, subsequently losing the game and setting the controller down. After Gerard had stolen his Xbox back, Mikey was left with his old console with all progress lost, so he found it more difficult to play for 12 hours straight when he had already passed these levels. “What do you wanna do? We can try to bug him for his Xbox? Or to take us out? Or we can go pick up some movies and stay in.”

 

Frank had bit his lip at Mikey’s response, not what he wanted to hear. If Gerard was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t even acknowledge Frank, and if he did, it’d be as his younger brother’ dorky friend. But occasionally when Gerard was in a good mood, he would bum Frank cigarettes and even smile at him sometimes, actually engaging in conversation. This has only happened a couple times in the past couple years, but Frank’s crush was still unwavering.

 

“Beer sounds good,” Frank suggested after awhile, looking up when Mikey ended the game. “Or something stronger? Horror movies and bourbon maybe?” he said with a grin.

 

Mikey lifted an eyebrow at Frank and shrugged, letting a moment pass. “Yeah. You’d have to go ask him for that though. He won’t buy that shit for me,” he said indifferently. “I think maybe he doesn’t want to corrupt me or something,” Mikey added, before turning back to look at the basement door. “He should just be down there moping. Go ahead and bother him. Bonus points if you get him to turn a light on or open a blind.”

 

“You think he’d buy some if I asked him?” Frank asked hopefully, following Mikey’s gaze to the basement. “Alright, wish me luck,” Frank joked, when actually his nerves were making his hands shake before he headed down the stairs. Instantly the smell of black coffee and cigarettes hit him, and it was almost drawing Frank in, as he slightly stumbled around in the dark, his eyes adjusting while he looked for Gerard, finding him on the bed.

 

Gerard was doing exactly what Mikey had predicted. Moping, smoking cigarette after cigarette and staring at a ceiling that time had forlorn. His room was a wreck, but he’d still vouch to call it functional. He felt it was a truer representation of how he felt on the inside.

 

“Hey..” Frank cleared his throat, chewing at his lip, a nervous habit he had developed since he was a kid. “We were wondering if you wanted to drink with us tonight?” Frank asked hopefully. “It’s kinda been a shitty week, and whiskey sounds really nice right now,” Frank said honestly, shifting on his feet.

 

It took Gerard a moment to process it, almost. But as soon as he heard the door creak, part of him was pulled back from the land of perpetual mope. Frank was talking to him. Mikey’s friend. Kinda rough around the edges but so passionate at the core of himself, Gerard wondered why he wasn’t in a constant state of melting.

 

“Whiskey,” Gerard thought, dragging his eyes from the ceiling to Frank’s face. “Yeah. Okay. But I’m not walking to the corner store in the heat by myself. One of you has to buck up and come with me,” he sighed, throwing his legs over the edge of his bed.

 

Frank’s lips tugged into a small grin, attempting to hide his glee, at Gerard’s answer. “Yeah? I can walk with you, I don’t mind. I can even pay you for the bottle, too,” Frank offered, still grinning, as he reached for his wallet, fumbling for cash.

 

“No, I think I might go to hell if I took your money for buying you booze,” Gerard answered. Running his fingers through his hair, he stood up and started to root around one of the piles of unfolded clothes, looking for a sweater or something to conceal his skin from the sun, despite how uncomfortable it might be. He should really invest in sunscreen.

 

“You may be going to hell anyways for buying us hard alcohol,” Frank joked, and set the cash on Gerard’s dresser anyway, and he watched curiously as Gerard tore through his room, obviously looking for something.

 

Gerard shrugged and scoffed at Frank’s comment, looking back over his shoulder as he successfully pulled a jacket from the wreck. “Are you and Mikey going out tonight?” he asked. “I can cover for you guys, but I can’t come pick you up if you get in trouble. I’ll probably be super wasted.” Gerard headed towards his door, holding it open for Frank slightly.

 

Frank followed him to the stairs, nodding a silent thanks when Gerard held the door. “Nah, I think we’re probably gonna stay in tonight, get drunk and watch a horror movie or two. That way, if we get wasted, we can just crash in the next room, and not have to buy an uber home or something,” Frank shrugged, and disappeared to Mikey’s room to grab shoes and stealing one of Mikey’s snapbacks before meeting Gerard out in the living room. “Ready?” he grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

“Yeah, ready as I’ll ever be,” Gerard said, before standing up from the couch with a groan. There was something about Frank and his relentless good humor that made Gerard feel like a leech. Like he sucks all the life out of everything. He knew he did, but he was glad Mikey has at least one good influence. Despite his shortcomings, Frank was a good kid.

 

Gerard opened the door to the outside world and stepped out onto the porch, wishing the light didn’t burn his eyes so much. Wishing that maybe he had some other cool vampire traits too. He pulled up the collar of his jacket, just to pretend, and didn’t say anything about it. “We’ll go to the store about a block down. In exchange for doing your bidding, Frankie,” Gerard said, already reaching for another cigarette, “you’ve gotta keep a nice conversation going. So tell me. What’s going on with you right now?”

 

Frank raised an eyebrow, amused, when Gerard popped his collar, and only chuckled under his breath, not commenting on it. He fought back a blush, however, at the way Gerard worded things, and shook his head, pulling his hood up over his head to mask the side of his face so Gerard couldn’t see any potential blush. “Fair warning, you should know I’m not great with nice conversations,” Frank admitted, looking down at his feet as he walked, having the irrational fear that he would trip on air and eat shit in front of Gerard. “I guess Mikey and I are done with school for the summer, and I have zero plans, save for playing video games with your brother,” Frank chuckled lightly.

 

“He’s a fuckin’ cheater, did you know that?” Gerard asked, looking at Frank with wide eyes and waving his new cigarette around. “He plays dirty so you have to play dirty back. And he pretends he’s not doing what he’s actually doing,” he said.

 

Frank instinctively side-stepped away from Gerard’s cigarette when the cherry got dangerously close to Frank’s face. “He hustled me for years, yeah. For the longest time I thought he sucked and just had really good luck. I dunno, he’s good at lying,” Frank shrugged with a chuckle.

 

Gerard seemed to hum in agreement, taking a drag. “But it’s whatever. How was your school year?” Gerard blew out a first lungful of tar and smoke and hoped that it’d make him less awkward- but it didn’t. “You’re in Mikey’s grade, right? Looking at colleges?” Frank could go to college. But maybe he’s too smart to go to college, Gerard thought. Frank seemed like one of those kids who had no restraints when it came to dealing with the world. And it was entirely admirable. Gerard wondered how to bottle that quality of him.

 

Frank seemed to gather all his confidence to reach over and sneakily grab the pack of smokes from Gerard’s open jacket pocket, silently taking one and lighting it, before sneaking the pack back to Gerard’s pocket, simply looking up at him with a lopsided smile and a shrug. “Yeah, Mikey wants me to apply to the same places he is. Honestly, I wouldn’t wanna live in a town without him, but we have totally different plans. I feel like if I go to some prestigious university with him, I’ll only end up dropping out in a couple years, earning a lifetime of debt with nothing to prove for it,” he slightly rambled between drags of his cigarette, forcing himself to shut up eventually. “Art school is cool, though. It seems like you would actually learn things for you career. Mikey was saying you got an offer to work for the cartoon network?” Frank looked back up to him.

 

“College isn’t for everyone,” Gerard said, taking note of the cigarette that was definitely his hanging from Frank’s mouth and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. He wished he was a year or so younger, to have a chance to hang out with Frank as a friend. Or have a chance at running into him naturally. Gerard wanted to draw him, willingly throw hours away to fail at capturing the life that surrounds Frank and then realize it’s an indescribable quality- that it’s worthless to even try.

 

“But it’s just not what I want, y’know?” Gerard asked, scuffing the toe of his sneaker into the chipped up pavement. “It’s not like. Art art. I think if I ever wound up sitting at a desk in a cubicle drawing for some ebullshit, overproduced kid’s show, I’d have to blow my brains out,” he said. “Not to be too morbid.”

 

Frank found himself smiling at Gerard’s answer, grinning stupidly as he stared down at the concrete sidewalk. Everyone who had ever asked Frank about his future always seemed to frown in disappointment when he would honestly tell them what he thought of the whole capitalist bullshit that was college. It was a business, and Frank wanted no part in it. But he was tired of the patronizing reactions, so he would lie and tell everyone he planned to go to the state university. However, with Gerard, Frank had a feeling he would share Frank’s feelings about it.

 

“Then fuck it,” Frank shrugged, as if it was the obvious, easy answer. “Even if ‘real art’ doesn’t bring in that much money, wouldn’t it be worth it to live as a poor starving artist than to not live at all?” Frank pointed out, and found himself frowning when he noticed they were already reaching the parking lot of the liquor store.

 

Gerard had stopped walking, as he often did to prove a point. “Yes!! That’s it man, that’s fucking it!” he said, grabbing Frank by the wrist, just to have something to hang on to. “There’s no fucking point in selling your soul to live a mediocre like. I don’t want to do that, Frankie,” he said, squeezing just a fraction. “I want to do something. Even if I die young and broke, I’d be okay with that because I lived my life the way I wanted to. I left the impact I thought I was supposed to. I don’t know,” Gerard said, letting Frank’s arm drop and taking a shaky breath from his cigarette again. “Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you did something that meant something to someone? Do you think you’d ever really die?”

 

Frank admittedly flushed when Gerard reached for his wrist, and Frank looked up at him to see Gerard’s eyes, almost wild with enthusiasm, and Frank was so enamored with Gerard it scared him. “If you did, like, leave an impact on someone, then that’s the only reason why we wouldn’t just disappear into oblivion. I honestly feel sorry for anyone who leaves this earth with no one to remember them,” Frank thought aloud. “That’s why I like music so much. Hell, use Bowie as an example. I don’t think he’ll ever really ‘die’. Even a few generations from now, I think kids will still know who Ziggy Stardust is. At least I hope they will,” Frank chuckled nervously, worried he was rambling too much.

 

“Yeah… exactly Frankie,” Gerard said. For the first time in a while, he felt alive in the very depth of his chest, where a flame hadn’t burned so brightly in years. He couldn’t help the smile that warped his face and showed off his weird, sharp little teeth. He almost forgot about how his nose wrinkled and it made his eyes scrunch up at the edges. It was worth it. For one moment in time, Gerard felt happy and understood. He let it hang in the air, until it felt stretched, and let the smile slide from his face and his eyes fall back to the liquor shop door. Part of his brain was trying to process the emotions he felt, another part was trying to drown them out. “So you guys want whiskey?”

 

Frank found himself flushed, yet again, at Gerard’s use of the nickname, and he simply stood there, stupidly smiling at Gerard’s wide grin, and Frank felt a shiver wrack his body when he zeroed his gaze in on Gerard’s lips, and his sharp, vampire-like teeth exposed behind them. “What?” Frank asked, almost in a daze when Gerard spoke again, and had to shake his head as if to shake himself back to reality. “Um, yeah, it doesn’t have to be anything good, really. Cheap whiskey is fine with me,” Frank looked up at him with a lopsided smile.

 

Gerard rifled around in his jeans pocket, waiting for his hand to land on the crumpled 20. “Yeah okay. I can get you some shitty whiskey,” he said. He knew he didn’t need to clarify anything, but he was looking for a way to move the conversation forward and not hang on to the immediate past so desperately. There was something beginning to run through his veins that he didn’t like, and he was too eager to tamp it down with self medication. “Just stay out here. Don’t like… get fucking taken okay?”

 

Frank had to stifle a laugh at Gerard’s warning, and shrugged. “I’ll try not to. Just try to be quick, before guys start coming out of the alleys,” Frank joked along with Gerard’s dark humor.

 

Gerard rolled his eyes with a brief chuckle before disappearing into the liquor store. He knew what he wanted and made his business as short as possible. He pulled two bottles from the shelf and spent the whole time waiting in line thinking about Frank. When he reached the counter, he handed the cash over, didn’t wait for the change, and grabbed the poorly made paper bag. It was like diving to the bottom of the pool. One hand in front of his face to push the door open, he lunged into the world again. Stale air gone. Replaced with pure humid heat. Life around him no longer lit with incandescence.

 

“I’ll give you the stuff when we get home,” Gerard explained to Frank who he was actually very worried about. “I think if I give it to you out here and someone sees, I might get in trouble? But no one fucking cares. Whatever,” he shrugged.

 

Frank chewed at his lip at Gerard’s words. He knew Gerard didn’t mean it in a patronizing way, but Frank couldn’t help but feel like a kid in comparison to Gerard. “You know I’m not that much younger than you,” Frank felt obligated to point out. “Plus, you’re not legally allowed to drink that stuff either,” he added, pointedly taking the paper bag from Gerard and taking a quick swig from the bottle before handing it back to Gerard.

 

“Fuck off,” Gerard huffed, not meaning it at all. “I know you’re not a kid. But if anything happened to you or Mikey, it’d be my head that gets cut off first,” he said. “And you’re Mikey’s friend. It’d be weird… right?” he asked, not really sure where he was going with this. Something should be weird. Something he couldn’t put a name to yet but something his brain didn’t want to think about, so he picked up his pace. The quicker he got home the quicker he could drink himself half to death.

 

Frank bit his lip when Gerard used that term- ‘Mikey’s friend’- and it made Frank’s stomach twist, and not in the good way. “Yeah… weird,” he agreed simply, shoving his hands back in his pockets and looking straight ahead, vaguely able to see the outline of the Way’s house in the distance. Mikey was probably engaged in some video game, impatiently waiting for Frank and Gerard to return with alcohol. Thinking of Mikey made Frank rethink his whole conversation with Gerard. This was Mikey’s brother, it would definitely be weird if something happened. Mikey would probably never act the same around Frank if it did.

 

“Think of anything for the walk home?” Gerard asked to break the silence, and Frank wracked his brain for a new conversation topic, but his mind was still slightly fuzzy with Gerard standing somewhat close to him.

 

“So you’re not planning on going out tonight then?” Frank asked as they walked towards Gerard’s house. “If you want, you can hang out with us kids and watch some shitty horror movies?” he offered with a light chuckle.

 

Gerard rolled his eyes at that, but shrugged. “Yeah. If I’m still awake when you guys decide to wind down, I’ll come hang out with you,” Gerard agreed. “My friends are all out of town for the night.”

 

“I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Frank added, still chewing at his lip until he felt blood in his mouth.

 

“No it’s cool. You’re really neat an- oh, shit,” Gerard paused after looking briefly at Frank. “Hey your lip is bleeding,” he pointed out, stopping to stare and raise a deft thumb to Frank’s lower lip.

 

Frank’s lips quirked at the almost-compliment. At least, a compliment according to Gerard. “Oh- yeah, I guess it is,” Frank chuckled nervously, but the laugh died in his throat when he saw Gerard’s thumb reach up to almost brush Frank’s lip, and Frank stopped walking to stare up at him with slightly widened eyes.

 

“That’s kinda neat,” Gerard mused. “I’ve always wanted to be able to control nosebleeds and that stuff. I just think sometimes it’s really nice looking. A really cool contrast,” Gerard said, not quite touching Frank at all before moving his hand, remembering their proximity and making the movement jerky. “Sorry. I just wanted to look. Uh. Movies? Maybe.”

 

Frank looked away just as quickly as Gerard had removed his hand, and he nodded, releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Yeah- yeah, movies. Right,” Frank agreed, struggling to keep up with Gerard’s long, quick strides.

 

“Here,” Gerard said when they reached his house, holding open the front door after racing up the porch steps. “Go on inside.”

 

Frank nodded, but avoided eye contact with Gerard as he walked inside, smiling at Mikey when he found him on the couch, controller in hand. “We come bearing imminent hangovers,” Frank joked in a mock-serious tone, holding up the brown sack in one hand.

 

Mikey paused his game to look over his shoulder at the two of them and squinted behind his glasses. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said, his eyes narrowing at Gerard, letting silence fall over all of them.

 

“Yeah, maybe. That’d be kinda cool,” Gerard said after a pause, and grabbed the bottle that he’d bought for himself and headed towards the basement door. “Um. If you need me I’ll be in my room. Thanks for the talk, Frankie,” he said before trying to make himself disappear into the shadows of his basement as fast as he could.

 

“Yeah, thanks for buying us booze,” Frank said to Gerard’s back, and fell back into the sofa next to Mikey when the basement door shut. Mikey gave Frank a funny, sideways look, but Frank ignored him and picked up the controller. “C’mon, let’s just play, yeah?” Frank said, maintaining a stoic expression and not letting his mind wander as he thought about how Gerard had managed to disappear so quickly, back down to the basement, yet again.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank and Mikey were a few shots deep and had grown bored of Fallout when Mikey finally broke the silence.

 

“Does he call you Frankie?”

 

“What?” Frank furrowed his eyebrows at Mikey’s comment, looking up from the game and picking up the bottle of whiskey. “Oh, I guess? I didn’t really notice it,” Frank lied, lifting the bottle and downing two shots, giving himself a head rush.

 

Mikey continued to stare. He put his controller down and focused all his attention towards Frank, to see if he could get him to crack. “You’re the worst liar. Do you know that?”

 

Frank groaned aloud when Mikey turned his attention to him, scrutinizing his every expression, and Frank quickly put his hands over his face to mask himself from Mikey. “I’m not that bad at lying,” Frank mumbled, the words muffled against his palms.

 

“You know me better than to try to lie to me, man,” Mikey smirked. “You can tell me anything. What’s your deal with Gerard? He won’t even come out of his room for me. And suddenly he’s getting booze for you and calling you Frankie? Did you slip him something?”

 

Frank sighed and eventually lowered his hands, reaching for the bottle again, taking one more shot. His head was already fairly fuzzy, and he shrugged at Mikey. “I dunno. He’s your brother, you know him better than I do.”

  
“You’re a dick for not telling me whatever is going on between you two,” Mikey grumbled, taking the bottle away from Frank again and helping himself to the contents. “I’ll find out eventually,” he said, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Even if you don’t tell me ever, I’ll figure it out. He’s a really bad liar and so are you. Together you’re super transparent,” he said, before squinting again at Frank.

 

Frank groaned at Mikey’s persistence, and shook his head. “You’ll hate it,” Frank said, his words slightly slurred already. “You’ll think I’m crazy and delusional and I don’t want anything to fuck up our friendship,” Frank spoke freely, throwing his head back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

 

“Hey,” Mikey said, placing a gentle hand on Frank’s shoulder. “You’re my friend. And you can’t fuck up our friendship unless you commit a mortal sin or something,” he said, before punching his arm lightly. Mikey took another long drink from the bottle and shivered at the way it burned his spine. “And I’m pretty sure that mortal sin number one is ‘thou shall not hide things from Mikey’. You might go to hell for it, Frank.”

 

“And what if I’m already going to hell?” Frank laughed, his mouth moving faster than his mind. “I think I’d go to hell either way, so your argument is invalid,” Frank grinned at him with a casual shrug. “Hey- didn’t you promise me horror movies?” he pointed out after awhile, standing up quickly on unsteady legs, balancing himself, and walking over to change the input on the TV and put in a random DVD with gore on the case.

 

Mikey frowned. “I don’t care anymore. You’re neglecting me,” he teased, watching Frank get up and suddenly realizing how blurry his eyesight was, even with his glasses. While Frank was up, Mikey lunged over and stole his pillow, taking it back to his own side of the couch and spreading out.

 

“It’s not my fault you need attention all the time,” Frank laughed, carefully walking back over to the couch, and practically sat in Mikey’s lap, giggling.

 

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Mikey added as a second thought. “We don’t have a way of getting you to the hospital.”

 

“I’m not gonna fuckin’ break my arm or anything,” Frank chuckled, propping his feet up on the coffee table and laid his head back against Mikey’s chest.

 

“Stupid,” Mikey sighed, while working his fingers through Frank’s hair. It was oddly soft, for all the damage that Frank put it through. And there was something about it that was nice. Frank smelled like a home away from home. Something sweet under layers of cigarettes and deodorant. “Y’know you could never lose me as a friend, right?” Mikey asked, ignoring the screen for the most part.

 

Frank hummed in content at the feeling of Mikey’s fingers in his hair, practically mewling as he leaned back against him. “Even if I did something that would make you hate me?” Frank slurred with a frown, taking another swig of the whiskey.

 

“I don’t think I could ever hate you,” Mikey admitted softly, not taking anything else to drink but opting to watch over Frank instead. There was something about all his recklessness that made Mikey want to mother him, just a little bit. “But yeah. Even if you did something really shitty,” he said, turning down the volume of the movie to hear Frank better.

 

Frank turned around in Mikey’s lap to grin at him, wide, teeth on full display. “You’re too good for me, Mikes. Too good for me,” Frank chuckled, handing Mikey the bottle before Frank could drink anymore or potentially spill it all over the both of them. Mikey shrugged and sat the bottle down on the end table next to them, careful to make sure nothing was beneath the bottle that could make it tip.

 

“You’d still be mad at me, though,” Frank said seriously after awhile. At least, as serious as he could be while slurring his words and still smiling.

 

“I don’t know. What could you have possibly done that you’re so worried about?” Mikey asked. “You’re not usually so hard to talk to. But today you’re just all… locked up. Which is okay- I respect your privacy. But you’re usually an open book with me.”

 

“I didn’t even do anything, though,” he shook his head and chuckled. “I think I’m too much of a pussy,” he added jokingly, staring at the bottle on the table, but he was too lazy to move to get it anyways. “He’s never even said anything that hinted that he was gay or anything. He’s just so… _cool_ , and he likes the same music I do, and he was really really nice today,” Frank rambled, resting his head back against Mikey’s chest and staring up at the ceiling while everything began to spin. “I’m so fucked,” he mumbled.

 

“Who- oh,” Mikey said, still running his fingers through Frank’s hair and pondering his next words. “Gerard, right?” He asked, mind going a mile a minute. “Uh. Have you told him? And Gerard being anything but straight is a really funny joke,” Mikey huffed. “Weren’t you here the night that he came home in drag and stuff? And my mom totally thought he was someone else? He’s really not straight… you actually might have a shot with him.”

 

Frank groaned aloud and hid his face in his hands when Mikey started to figure it out. “But… I mean, it’s _Gerard_. Half the time he hardly pays any attention to us. Before today, the only interactions we had was from him bumming me cigarettes,” Frank’s mouth was working faster than his mind at this point. Frank couldn’t help but grin, though, when Mikey brought up that night when Gerard walked in wearing fishnets and makeup, and those 15 seconds before Gerard disappeared into the basement had been Frank’s masturbation material for weeks. “For all we know, he may already have a boyfriend from college,” Frank slurred with a shrug.

 

Mikey copied his shrug, taking careful mental note of how Frank’s whole face shifted to accommodate his lazy smile. “He’s just… moody,” Mikey decided, taking to rubbing Frank’s shoulder softly. “He’s sort of always like that. But you got him to come out of his room today which is… really cool,” Mikey continued, choosing his words carefully. “And there’s a guy named Bert but he’s not really any sort of boyfriend… he spent the night here once and he’s kind of gross really.”

 

Frank’s face contorted almost in a pout. “Bert?” he frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. “He spent the night?” Frank repeated. He knew he shouldn’t be so upset- Gerard hardly knew Frank outside of him being Mikey’s best friend. Plus, Gerard was in college, living on his own most of the year, so it was almost expected for him to be sleeping around during this period of his life. Still. Thinking about it made Frank feel small.

 

“They didn’t like. Do anything,” Mikey assured, immediately feeling the tension build in Frank’s shoulders again and worked his thumbs to smooth them back out. “I’m pretty sure they just do drugs together. And when Gerard gets high he needs a lot of physical attention,” he said, pulling Frank back into his chest.

 

Frank sighed, forcing himself to relax, and looked back over his shoulder at Mikey, giving him a lopsided smile. “You’re too good, Mikes,” Frank hummed, nuzzling his face into Mikey’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent.

 

“Relax. I have an idea, okay?” Mikey wound his arms around Frank and held him tightly to keep him from freaking out or retreating into himself again. “What if you hang out with Gerard tonight? Tell him I passed out early. And I can go up to my room and let you guys just get to know each other more. It takes a lot of convincing to come out of his shell. I think you can do it though.”

 

Frank pulled away from Mikey’s neck to look at him seriously. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea,” Frank slurred with a light chuckle. “‘m already pretty drunk and I could do something I regret,” he pointed out matter-of-factly. “I dunno, or maybe we could just get him high and figure everything else out in the morning,” Frank said with a devious grin.

 

Mikey snickered. “You wouldn’t have to twist his arm very much, if he’s not already giving himself alcohol poisoning and lamenting over the obscure and morbid. You don’t have to spill your guts or anything. Just get to know him in a friendly, friendship way. He won’t feel threatened or like you want anything from him, and it’d be good to see if he’s not dead or anything down there,” Mikey joked, pushing Frank away just a little bit. Frank’s hair tickled against Mikey’s neck, and as a reflex his hand had shot up to itch at the spot. “I’m sure if you just asked for his company he’d be more than happy to let you into his… cesspool. And hey, if you do fuck him maybe it’d make him less weird.”

 

Frank’s face scrunched up in discomfort at Mikey’s blunt words, but shrugged it off and eventually stood up from the couch, having to balance himself on the arm of the couch. “I can’t believe you’re giving me dating advice on your brother,” Frank stifled a laugh with the back of his hand. “Does this mean you’re obligated to give me shit about it tomorrow? Because I won’t give you any answers. I prob’ly won’t remember much ‘nyway.”

 

Mikey smirked. “If you come up to breakfast with hickeys or some other totally ‘we did not do friendly things last night’ look, then yeah, I get to give you shit for it,” Mikey said before standing up to go to his room. “Good luck, Frank,” Mikey said, patting him once on the back before walking off.

 

Frank sighed, watched Mikey leave, and grabbed the bottle from the table before heading to the basement, having to hold onto the railing so he didn’t trip and eat shit on the stairs.

 

When Gerard saw Frank open the door, he’d almost forgotten he’d been laying with his head hanging off the edge of his mattress and almost ate shit on his floor when he went to move. He’d also totally forgotten about being wasted. Whatever. “Hey Frankie, ‘sup?” he asked.

 

Frank wasn’t at all surprised to find the lights off in the basement, and his eyes adjusted to find Gerard, and he held the bottle up in one hand. He had to stifle a laugh when Gerard nearly fell off the bed. “We’ve still got some left if you wanna get shitfaced,” Frank grinned, taking a seat on the floor on a particularly high mound of black dirty tshirts. “Mikey passed out before I could even get black out, and I didn’t wanna get drunk alone,” Frank shrugged, passing Gerard the bottle.

 

Gerard made brief eye contact with Frank before taking the bottle and carefully coordinating a drink. “Yeah Mikey can be kinda a lightweight,” he agreed, handing the bottle back.

 

“Well he does have, like, .5 percent body fat, so it makes sense,” Frank said, leaning back on his hands, crossing his legs.

 

“How was your movie? You don’t usually visit me after,” Gerard observed.

 

“I don’t even remember watching it,” Frank furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember turning on the TV and whatever was playing in the background as he talked with Mikey. “I dunno, it wasn’t very interesting,” Frank came to the conclusion and shrugged. He stole the bottle back from Gerard, taking about his 7th shot that night, and his head was already swimming. “And you don’t visit us, either. Like ever,” Frank slurred.

 

Gerard shrugged and wondered how much more he’d be able to drink before he totally stopped being able to form a coherent sentence. He was more than thankful that Frank didn’t give a shit and was more than a little tipsy himself. “Fuck off, Frankie,” Gerard said, doing his best to seem menacing before stumbling over to the half window and reached up to open it. “You wanna cigarette? Or are you just gonna come into my room and chas-ch-criticize me,” he said huffily. “Words are hard. Don’t even get on my case.” He was actually really happy that Frank decided to pester him tonight. He didn’t like being drunk alone. More often than not, it was fun to have someone to talk with.

 

Frank mock-pouted at Gerard’s words and flashed him both middle fingers before pushing himself off the mountain of laundry and stumbled over to the window. He had to balance himself on Gerard for half a second before he crashed back against the wall, giggling. “I would never say no to a cig,” Frank grinned, fumbling through his pockets for a lighter and flicked it on, holding the flame dangerously close to Gerard’s face.

 

“Oh god you’re gonna light me on fire,” Gerard muttered and took a reflexive half step backwards, almost bumping into a table with three legs instead of four.

 

“I’m not gonna fuckin’ light you on fire,” Frank huffed defensively, shaking his head as he focused on keeping the lighter still.

 

“Here,” Gerard said, placing a cigarette between his lips and leaning forwards so the end touched the flame, and Frank was too focused to move, watching Gerard’s lips around his cigarette while he held it over the flame. Gerard took the first drag before handing it to Frank. “I’ve only got two left and I can’t find my other pack so tonight we’re gonna share, ‘kay?”

 

“Fineeee,” Frank fake groaned as he took the cigarette from Gerard, taking two long drags before passing it back.

 

Gerard leaned his weight against the wall and let the cold seep into his cheek. “Do you ever just… feel things sometimes? And the solidity of it all under you makes you feel small?” Gerard asked, running his hand over the wall. “Like. This could be here longer than me. It’ll outlive me by decades.”

 

“Hm, not if you were murdered here,” Frank mused, and followed suit as he leaned his head back against the wall with his eyes shut, attempting to force everything to stop spinning. “And your ghost haunts the basement,” Frank finished his thought, opening his eyes to look over at Gerard. “And if it’s upsetting you so much, just tear it down. Y’know, so it doesn’t outlive you,” Frank said as if it were obvious.

 

“No, but like,” Gerard started, taking a deep breath of the cigarette to the point where he could feel his lungs burn from the charred tobacco before letting the cigarette rest between his fingers, “don’t you feel all small about it?” he asked on the exhale, voice dry and rasped. “I don’t wanna tear it down. I don’t get to choose what exists and what doesn’t, y’know? Just myself,” he trailed off before looking over at Frank.

 

Frank bit his lip as he watched Gerard talk, and Frank’s drunken mind was only processing half of Gerard’s thought process. “I’m small in comparison to literally everything anyway,” Frank slurred, noting how he always had to look up at Gerard. “But I get what you mean. Everybody wants to play god, but in reality we’re all just non-essential pieces of the universe. We’re entirely replaceable,” Frank rambled, not knowing exactly what was coming out of his mouth, but he knew he was growing more depressed as he talked.

 

“Exactly!” Gerard shouted out, startling Frank, and his eyes seemed to glaze over for a second or two before they snapped back to Frank. “Hey… do you wanna lay down with me?” he asked, softly, as if he were scared to do so. “Not in any way more than friends. Just to feel it. If that makes sense.”

 

“Yes,” Frank answered, probably too quickly. “I just wanna be feeling anything but this fucking spinning sensation,” Frank murmured, forcing himself not to think about vomiting, and held onto Gerard’s upper arm to steady himself on the way to the bed.

 

“Oh, shit… don’t puke on my bed,” Gerard mumbled, helping Frank past a stack of sketchbooks and onto his bed. Despite the surroundings, Gerard’s bed was usually devoid of debris. Only his pillows and bedding were on it. They were soft and cotton, inviting. His mattress was well worn and had a tendency to swallow people whole, but he liked it that way.

 

Frank giggled as he followed Gerard to the bed, laughing at nothing in particular as he collapsed on the bed, at first burying his face in Gerard’s pillow, breathing in the scent of Gerard, and grinning.

 

“Just lay back with me,” Gerard offered, helping Frank over to his side, so they were laying almost nose to nose, only the width of darkness separating them. “Are you gonna be okay, Frankie?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” he slurred with a lopsided smile, propping his head up on his hand. “Are you gonna be okay, Gee?” Frank repeated.

 

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked.

 

“I dunno, you seem pretty drunk yourself,” Frank said, absently chewing at his lip, reopening the scab on his bottom lip.

 

Gerard shrugged, watching Frank’s mouth and the way his teeth pulled the skin from his lip again. He was transfixed by everything about Frank, and he was pretty sure most of it wasn’t even because of the alcohol coursing through his body. “Hey you’re bleeding again,” Gerard said, lifting his hand up like he had before and cupped Frank’s chin ever so gently, like he was a work of art. Gerard thought he was either way. Or maybe drunk-Gerard did? The way the blood beaded on Frank’s swollen lip made him feel some sort of way he couldn’t quite describe and he let his thumb skip over the wound.

 

Before Frank could hide his flushed face in the palm of his hand, Gerard was cupping his chin, and Frank had never wanted to kiss somebody more in his life. “Yeah… ‘m always bleeding,” he chuckled breathily.

 

“Does it hurt?” Gerard asked, and Frank had moved slightly closer until their chests were flush against each other. A lump began to form in Gerard’s throat as he became acutely aware of how close they were. Inch by inch, his body started burning where Frank had touched him. Their chests together had driven Gerard crazy with a sense of lust that only unsolved emotions could bring forth.

 

“Nah, but it’s probably ‘cause I can’t feel much when I’m drunk,” Frank answered honestly, swiping his tongue out over his bottom lip to wipe away the blood, but ended up just smearing it.

 

Gerard could barely hear Frank’s words. They rang in his ears just like his own thoughts did. ”Uh huh,” he said dumbly, unable to tear his half-lidded eyes from Frank’s lower lip. When Frank had lashed his tongue across the wound, that had been enough. Gerard waited a beat, to watch the blood smear, and hesitantly moved forward. Softly, as if he were unsure, he moved close enough to feel Frank’s breath on his own lips, stopping only once more to catch his eyes in the low light and run his soggy mind over what he was about to do.

 

When Gerard moved his face half an inch closer, something seemed to snap inside Frank and he made the decision for both of them by instantly closing the gap between them, eagerly pressing his lips against Gerard’s. He let his eyes shut and moved his lips slowly over Gerard’s, reaching a hand up to grab a fistful of the front of Gerard’s tshirt, and tugged him impossibly closer.

 

Loosely, Gerard let out a moan and wrapped his free hand through Frank’s hair. Every part of his body was urging him to get closer, let this fire that Frank had set consume his body. There was no remaining rationale to stop him, so he didn’t. He pushed his tongue into Frank’s mouth and moved to twine their legs together, desperate to get closer. He wanted bare skin and the smothering heat of whatever came after this moment. Frank tasted like cigarettes and sweet alcohol and something unique to him- Gerard decided quickly that he liked it.

 

Just the sound of Gerard’s moan seemed to light Frank’s entire body on fire, and he desperately pressed himself closer to Gerard, and when that wasn’t enough, he moved so he was practically straddling Gerard, lying over him, and his hands were already slipping under Gerard’s shirt, roaming over his bare stomach and chest, the skin smooth and soft.

 

Gerard was the first to pull away to catch his breath, just for a second. “I don’t have like… a blood kink or anything. You’re just really hot.”

 

Frank had gratefully taken in air when Gerard pulled away, and rested his forehead against Gerard’s, breathing hard. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with blood kinks?” Frank asked breathlessly, raising an eyebrow while his lips quirked into a smirk.

 

Gerard felt like a virgin again, caught wide eyes and with nothing to say to defend himself. “Oh fuck… no there’s nothing wrong with blood kinks. Do you have one?” he asked, half breathless. The weight of Frank over his hips was driving him mad.

 

Frank mentally cursed himself when his face heated up in a blush again, and buried his face in Gerard’s neck to hide it. “Maybe,” he mumbled into Gerard’s neck sheepishly, nipping at the skin of Gerard’s neck lightly, though not enough to draw blood.

 

Gerard had moaned again when Frank bit his neck. Something about it seemed straight out of a shitty vampire-themed erotica. He wondered how Frank would look with fangs and dark eyes. Thinking about it had his hands moving over Frank’s abdomen and down towards his belt. Trigger happy and twitchy. Waiting for the right time to start working their magic and undo the belt that stood between Gerard and the satisfying urge. “Is this okay?” he asked, looping his fingers over Frank’s waistband. “Is it okay if I touch you?” he asked, running his fingertips over Frank’s exposed skin and waiting for permission to start tearing Frank’s clothes off.

 

Frank sucked in a sharp breath when he felt Gerard’s hands on his hips, fingers in his belt loops, and Frank was nodding quickly. “Yes… god, /yes/,” he breathed out, sitting up on his knees on either side of Gerard’s hips, and fumbled with his belt buckle. When he finally popped the button on his jeans, he started to tug them down his thighs clumsily, Frank’s hands slightly shaking with nerves and the mentality that this was actually happening, that this was Gerard underneath him, and Gerard could probably feel Frank’s hard on, and he wasn’t pulling away.

 

Gerard sat up on his elbows and watched as Frank did most of the hard work for him- the sound of the button and fly coming loose racing down Gerard’s spine. “Oh god… you’re so hot, Frankie,” he said, almost lost in a pipe dream. He let his hands linger, over hip bones that were now exposed to him. Sharp and pale and so warm under Gerard’s hands. He dug his fingernails in, not enough to cause an real pain, but for the effect of watching blood rush to the surface under the skin.

 

Frank eventually managed to get Gerard’s jeans all the way off his legs, and absently tossed them to the floor before leaning down to capture Gerard’s lips again, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “I’ve always… always wanted this… wanted you,” Frank mumbled against Gerard’s lips, pulling back to rake his eyes over Gerard. He started to tug at Gerard’s tshirt, finally getting it over his head, and Frank’s stare lingered on Gerard’s exposed chest, and Frank swore his mouth started to water at the sight.

 

“Fuck…” Gerard sighed. He’d let it drop from his lips as he ground his hips up into Frank’s, hoping this was a dream he never woke up from.

 

Frank’s jaw fell slack and a loud moan slipped from his lips, and he roughly ground his crotch down over Gerard’s, his hips moving frantically to get more friction. “Ah, fuck, Gerard,” Frank breathed out, reaching down with eager hands to undo Gerard’s belt. “Off. These need to come off,” Frank mumbled, finally getting Gerard’s jeans down past his thighs, enough that his crotch was exposed within his boxers, and Frank started to rhythmically grind his ass down over him.

 

It took Gerard a moment or two to figure out how to work his mouth again with Frank touching him. Whether it be his lips or his hands or- oh god- Frank’s ass on his cock, Gerard could only hear in buzzing tones. His pulse was beating through his ears so loudly, he wondered if Frank could hear it too.

 

“I’ve… I’ve never really done this kinda thing before,” Frank felt obligated to say with a slight blush, looking down at Gerard with wide, lust-blown eyes. Frank was already completely hard in his boxers, so hard it hurt, and all he knew was that he never wanted to stop kissing or touching Gerard.

 

“Oh. oh,” Gerard breathed, sucking in air as fast as his lungs would let him. “Oh wait, Frankie,” he said finally, stilling his hips and pulling his hands from Frank’s chest and pausing for a moment. “Are you like… a /virgin/? Or have you done stuff with people before just never like this?” he asked, now realizing the gravity of the situation through the clouds of the lust and drunken fog. “You’ve had sex before, right?” he clarified, blinking away the blur in his eyes and running the back of his hand along Frank’s collarbone.

 

The second Gerard started to pull away, Frank knew the confession was a mistake, that he never should’ve said anything. “No- I… I mean, yeah, I’ve never done more than kiss a guy, but I’ve had sex with girls a few times,” Frank was quick to defend himself, and reached for Gerard again, hooking his arms around Gerard’s neck and looking down at him earnestly, slightly starting to sober up again. “I want this, though. I want you,” Frank managed to say without slurring his words, and to emphasize his point, he pressed his ass back down over Gerard’s crotch, lightly rocking in Gerard’s lap.

 

“Okay. Oh. Shit-” Gerard trailed off, face rising in color as Frank’s movements tore him away from everything he was about to say. For someone who’d never slept with a guy, Frank knew what he was doing. Maybe he watched a lot of porn- Gerard vaguely wondered what porn he’d watched. He almost asked, when everything hit him at once, his mind catching up to him. The way Frank alluded to riding him had his dick hard at attention. He hoped that he’d remember it this well in the shower later. Or in his bed. Or whenever, really.

 

“I’m not sure if… going all the way tonight is the best idea,” Gerard finally managed to get out, the anxiety in him getting the better. “I’ll still get you off, but I’m not sober enough to be able to take care of you the way you deserve,” he said, tucking Frank’s hair behind one ear and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

 

Frank wished he could’ve taken his words back, even though on some level, he knew he should at least be somewhat sober for his first time with a guy. It would’ve been so easy, though, to have just kept his mouth shut, and go all the way with Gerard. Frank had fantasized about it enough times that when Gerard was right in front of him, wearing only his boxers, it frustrated Frank to no end to know he couldn’t go through with it.

 

“I wish I wasn’t such a fucking virgin,” Frank huffed, looking like he was on the verge of tears, and swallowed the lump in his throat.

 

“Oh hey… honey…“ Gerard said, reaching out with a shaking hand and using it to hold Frank’s face still. Gently. “It’s better this way. Trust me. And if we ever uhm… do everything… you’ll probably want to actually… feel it?” Gerard said, face bright red as sobriety returned back to him, as well as his anxiety.

 

Hearing the hesitation in Gerard’s words brought a small smile to Frank’s face, knowing that he wasn’t the only anxious one here. “Yeah… yeah, I want that,” Frank murmured with a nod, and chewed at his lip. “Can I… can I still get you off?” he asked hesitantly, and slowly slipped his hand down between them to rub his palm over Gerard’s cock through his boxers. “I still know what I’m doing, I’ve watched enough porn,” Frank confessed bravely, as if reading Gerard’s mind.

 

Gerard’s anxiety was numbed the moment that Frank put his hand on him. Even through his boxers, Gerard could feel it all. Skilled fingers. Slightly calloused from playing guitar. Way better than anything he could have imagined or received in a long time. “Oh fuck- yeah you can get me off,” he breathed.

 

That was all Frank needed as he glided his fingers over Gerard’s boxers until he could feel the outline of Gerard’s cock, and gripped him through the material, tightening his fist around the base, something Frank did to himself when he got off.

 

In an instant, Gerard’s hands were on Frank’s hips and his mouth attached to Frank’s neck, muffling his moans. Gerard bit down and let his teeth and tongue graze over the area before him. When he got bored of it, he moved on and bit along the line of Frank’s collarbone. “You’re so good…“

 

Frank’s own hand faltered when he felt Gerard’s mouth on his neck, and gasped when Gerard bit the skin there, and Frank instinctively grinded his crotch against Gerard’s thigh, breathing in pants. “Just… just promise me that we can try… try to do things when we’re sober.”

 

Gerard nodded, unaware if Frank knew he’d replied or not, and kept going. One hand fell down to Frank’s waist where his fingers played with the harsh angles and soft skin beneath them. He let his forehead rest against Frank’s shoulder and slid his hand under the waistband of Frank’s own boxers. “Fuck, this is… this is so much better than I could have imagined,” Gerard murmured.

 

Frank gasped when he felt Gerard’s fingers brush over him, and he struggled to keep up with his hand movements around Gerard’s cock. Frank could feel his own cock twitch responsively, and his face went bright red, and he pressed his face into Gerard’s chest.

 

Gerard let his thumb slide over the head of Frank’s cock and his hand settled into a comfortable position around it. “Just don’t wake Mikey up… uh. Or try not to? I don’t want to have to deal with that,” he whispered, tightening his grip fractionally.

 

(Upstairs, Mikey was sitting on his bed, staring through the vent where he could absolutely hear everything, and wished he couldn’t.)

 

“Ah- I don’t care,” Frank mumbled against Gerard’s chest, thrusting slightly into Gerard’s hand, before he pulled away, playing with his lip ring while in thought. “I wanna try something,” he murmured, not giving Gerard much time to react before he moved down the bed so he was lying with his face lined up with Gerard’s crotch, and before he could psych himself out, he leaned forwards to press open-mouthed kisses over Gerard’s cock through his boxers, and daringly licked a long stripe up the outline of the underside of Gerard’s cock.

 

Gerard’s brain must have done the thing where some long line of instincts kicked in and overtook every other thought he had. He arched his back against the mattress and let out a long, porn worthy groan. His fists balled in his sheets, fingernails in his palms. “Oh fuck, Frank-” he choked out, trying to keep his vision from getting too blurry.

 

Frank’s eyes snapped up to Gerard’s face when he heard him moan, and Frank couldn’t help the grin that stretched on his face, and simply took it, wrapping his lips around the outline when Gerard arched his back and pressed his crotch up against Frank’s face.

 

Tentatively, Gerard was trying his very best to squirm without moving his hips around. “Oh fuck. What porn do you even watch?” he blurted out, clearly no longer in control of what came out of his mouth.

 

“The gay kind,” Frank chuckled at the question. “Usually with guys with pale skin and dark longer hair,” he added with a small smirk. That much was true- Frank would usually bookmark any porn videos with guys who remotely resembled Gerard. Frank didn’t want to be too much of a tease, so he eventually started to take Gerard’s boxers off, except he used his teeth to tug them down Gerard’s thighs, Gerard’s cock brushing over his face in the process. “You’ll have to teach me,” Frank murmured when he had discarded Gerard’s boxers on the bed, looking back up at Gerard. “Tell me what feels good,” he added, before suddenly leaning down to wrap his lips around the head of Gerard’s cock, hiding his teeth behind his lips as he forced his mouth further down, and hollowed out his cheeks and started to suck. Frank looked up at Gerard while he started to bob his head, his nails raking down the soft skin of Gerard’s thighs.

 

“Oh motherfucker,” Gerard gasped, one hand shooting to twine itself in Frank’s hair, the other hellbent on pulling the sheets practically off the bed. He was good. So good. So mind meltingly good that Gerard knew he wouldn’t last very long. Maybe it was the alcohol. It was definitely the experience. He was busy thinking about the porn answer when the base of his spine started to curl and he moaned again. Short and choked. Like he was trying and failing to be quiet. “So you’ve got a type?” he teased, with all the strength he was able to muster. His tone was wavering from the pleasure of it all. His pupils were blown black and wide, face red from everything going on around him. To him. Waking up the next morning would be surreal.

 

Frank pulled off with a quiet pop to breathe, and flicked his tongue out over the tip of Gerard’s dick. “Yeah, you’re kinda my type,” Frank said with a lopsided smile, looking up at Gerard. He was intent on making him cum, and wrapped his lips around Gerard again, this time forcing his mouth down further until Gerard nudged the back of his throat, and Frank forced away his gag reflex, sucking hard and experimentally humming around Gerard’s cock, sure to send vibrations through him.

 

Frank’s words pumped through Gerard’s ears. They alone were almost enough to push him over the edge. And then, before he thought he knew what heaven was, Frank sank down around his cock and it was game over very shortly. Gerard’s hips thrust involuntarily and he hoped to god he wasn’t choking Frank on accident.

 

Frank soon figured out that it was a lot easier for him to control his gag reflex, so when Gerard thrust further against his throat, Frank simply took it, shutting his eyes and focusing on not catching his teeth on Gerard’s cock accidentally.

 

“Frankie, baby, I’m gonna come,” Gerard stuttered, pushing his fingers through Frank’s hair shakily. “I don’t wanna… I don’t wanna make you swallow,” he confessed, a blush riding up his whole body.

 

Frank felt warmth wash over him at the nicknames Gerard used, and looked up at him, having to pull off to answer. “I wouldn’t entirely mind it,” Frank said sheepishly, biting his lip out of habit. “And you can fuck my mouth, y’know,” he added quietly with a faint smile, before leaning down to take Gerard in his mouth again, swirling his tongue around the tip while he sucked.

 

Gerard wrapped his fingers through Frank’s and set a stuttering pace with his hips. Not punishing. Not anything more than his brain could handle. He fucked his hips up into Frank’s mouth while he listened to the noises. Wet and slick and sometimes a groan from Frank.

 

Frank kept his jaw slack while Gerard continued to thrust into his mouth, basically using him, and Frank loved it- he was getting off on it while he desperately thrust his hips into the mattress, moaning around Gerard.

 

“Oh I’m gonna fuckin’ come,” Gerard slurred. His spine coiled and it felt like dominos falling over in the base of his stomach. He tightened his grip on the sheets and kept up his pace for a few more threads and then the world went white and he came with a strangled moan.

 

Frank vaguely registered the way Gerard’s hips stuttered, and he could hardly think before he could taste Gerard, flooding his mouth, and he winced slightly before swallowing, and pulled off with a pop. “Fuck,” Frank rasped, his voice completely shot.

 

Gerard could’ve sworn his knuckles cracked when he released his grip on the mattress. Reality came back to him one pixel at a time. “Oh… holy god…“

 

“That was… that was nice,” Frank mumbled, crawling up to lie ontop of Gerard, kissing over his collarbones, his jawline, and up to his lips so Gerard could taste himself on Frank’s lips.

 

Gerard kissed back, breathless. He still felt as though his life depended on it, like it was dripping out of him. Strung out on everything Frank had done to him, Gerard fidgeted. Frank’s mouth was still Frank’s underneath the new salt of it all. He let his tongue linger on it for a second before pulling away.

 

Frank melted into the kiss, letting his tongue glide over Gerard’s as he kissed him sloppily. By the time Gerard pulled away, Frank’s lips were red and swollen, and coated in spit and cum.

 

“Your turn?” Gerard asked, but it wasn’t really a question. He moved out from under Frank and ran a hand through his own hair, settling on his knees on the floor, just hovering over the edge of the bed.

 

“You don’t- you don’t have to-” Frank started to say, but Gerard was already on his knees in front of Frank, and just the sight made Frank’s head spin. He never would’ve thought this actually would be happening. He was half-sure he was actually dreaming. “You look so good like this,” he murmured, reaching down to tangle his hands in Gerard’s greasy hair, already disheveled from earlier, and Gerard’s face still look vaguely fucked-out, and Frank was entranced with it.

 

To Gerard, Frank was in a class all his own and Gerard couldn’t get enough of the high. He made all of Gerard’s bones go weak like jello, and he felt as though nothing was quite real as his knees dug into the carpet beneath him. His mouth ghosted over Frank’s inner thigh, brushing up against the pale skin and soft hair. Perfect. Pink from the heat. Better than any canvas.

 

Frank twitched and inhaled sharply at the feeling of Gerard’s mouth, so close to where he needed it, and Frank needed more or he would implode.

 

“Tell me more about the porn you watch?” he asked, and it wasn’t really a question. It’s a suggestion- something Frank should definitely do. Something Gerard wanted him to confess. He found something about shame highly erotic. With the low lighting and general blaspheme of the place, Gerard’s room was anything but holy.

 

The way Gerard was staring at Frank made him feel so exposed and vulnerable that he shivered. The way Gerard worded it had been inviting, but his tone was more demanding, and Frank felt as if he had no choice but to comply. “Most of them usually involve guys who kinda look like you,” Frank found himself admitting, looking down at his stomach while he talked- he found it easier than meeting Gerard’s gaze. “They do all the things I would fantasize you doing. Sometimes they suck each other off, or eat each other out, or fuck the other senseless,” Frank said, his face burning while he didn’t dare look up.

 

That was pretty basic. Gerard could do most of that stuff. Maybe not tonight, but in the long run- if there was a long run. He ran a hand along the veins of Frank’s inner thigh on the opposing leg and let it graze all the way up to the dip in his hips, where he let his palm rest, so close to Frank’s cock but not quite.

 

Frank’s hands balled into fists at his sides when Gerard kept his hand so close to where Frank needed him, but wouldn’t give Frank the satisfaction, keeping him in a perpetual state of need.

 

“What else?” Gerard asked. He kept his eye contact with Frank steady, even though he knew his cheeks were on fire. Breaking away would decrease his intensity and he didn’t have a lot else going for him. “Tell me things you wouldn’t tell anyone else,” he breathed, letting his words ghost over Frank’s skin. “What do you like to imagine me doing? In specifics.”

 

“Well… sometimes there’s blood,” Frank said quietly, his nails digging into the palms of his hands. “Either from biting, or cutting, or whipping. And it doesn’t look… too painful, mainly just pleasurable,” Frank found himself continuing to talk before he shut himself up, tangling a hand in Gerard’s hair. “Please, Gerard,” he whined, not sure what he was pleading for.

 

Gerard could have guessed. There was something about Frank that wasn’t exactly vanilla. He was sure that in college Frank would find out whatever exactly made him tick in the bedroom and get addicted to it. Gerard kind of wondered what exactly that was. He let his cheek rest against Frank’s hip and his bottom lip ghosted the base of his cock. Something about this was so fulfilling. Although it wasn’t entirely what he’d hoped their first time would be like, he was thankful for the alcohol that gave him the courage to try to pull this sort of stuff off. “Oh,” he hummed, as if he were barely paying attention (which couldn’t have been further from the truth). Frank’s hand in his hair made the back of his neck tingle. “That’s pretty kinky I guess,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Frank’s exposed skin. Gerard wondered if in forty years, he’d remember how this moment went down. He watched Frank’s whole body, the way it reacted to touch and sound. Muscles in his hips would twitch. The veins in his neck would draw closer to the surface. Gerard wanted to draw this someday. Try to pin it down to paper and commemorate it to an eternal work of art.

 

Frank’s hips twitched forwards, itching for more attention. “F-fucking hell, Gerard I- I need-” Frank rambled, tightening his hand in Gerard’s hair, and without thinking, he reached a hand down to grip his own cock, letting out a shaky sigh of relief. He threw his head back, letting out small moans as he pumped himself impatiently.

 

Gerard let himself think- let Frank’s fingers pull on his hair almost uncomfortably, before pushing away Frank’s hand and letting his lips take place. He started slowly, like he was mapping out every move before him. Tentatively he licked the head of Frank’s cock.

 

“A-ah, gerard,” Frank let out a guttural moan, and threw his head back, forcing himself to remain still.

 

Frank’s moan was more than enough payment for the service. It was more satisfying than any dirty thought that Gerard had in his mind prior to this very moment. Every weird porno, shitty erotica, strange dream. Gerard let his mouth start to envelop Frank’s cock, taking his time licking and sucking and working his way down slowly before establishing a rhythm.

 

Frank had to bite his lip hard not to scream, and collapsed back on the bed, gripping the sheets while pleasure seemed to shoot up through his entire body. “S-shit,” Frank hissed through a moan, “ah, you’re so good at that,” he breathed out, forcing his hips still. Frank’s eyes were squeezed shut and his hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, looking like the epitome of a fucked out mess, and Gerard had just started to suck him. Gerard’s mouth was hot and wet and better than any girl Frank had ever been with.

 

Gerard kept going, bobbing his head and following out his cheeks as he went. He dug his nails into Frank’s thigh absently and kept going. Deeper and faster. He wanted to choke on it. Fuck himself up on a moment that really shouldn’t even have been happening. He’d thought about this for so long and denied himself acceptance of liking Mikey’s friend but now it was right in front of him.

 

Frank was moaning freely now, reaching down to grip Gerard’s hair again, gasping when Gerard’s nails dug deeper into his skin, and Frank hoped he would be able to see marks tomorrow. “F-fuck, fuck- Gee-” Frank was babbling now, and every time he felt his cock hit the back of Gerard’s throat, he let out another loud moan, Mikey be damned. He was drunk enough not to be embarrassed by his own moaning. “Y-yeah, just like that- fuck,” Frank breathed out, his voice raspy from moaning and from going down on Gerard earlier. He felt heat start to coil in the pit of his stomach, and he tightened his hand in Gerard’s hair warningly. “Oh- fuck, I’m gonna cum,” Frank whined, forcing his hips to stay still on the bed so as not to choke Gerard any more than he was already doing to himself.

 

Gerard pulled off only for a moment, in order to speak. “I’m gonna swallow,” he panted, cheeks high and rosy in color, pupils blown wide and mouth glossy with spit and cum.

 

Frank looked down at Gerard when he felt him pull off, worried that Frank was choking him or something, but his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at Gerard’s words, and the way Gerard was looking up at him sent a shiver up his spine.

 

Gerard let his tongue glide up the underside of Frank’s cock once. Twice. Three times before sinking back over him, moving faster and ignoring the burn in his jaw. He thought only of how much he’d kill to be able to see this from a third person perspective and how hot Frank must look and how badly Gerard wanted to taste him.

 

If Frank was going to say anything, the words died in his throat when Gerard took him back into his mouth, and Frank was moaning loudly again subconsciously aware of Mikey upstairs. It only took a few seconds of Gerard bobbing his head before Frank was coming, hard and fast down Gerard’s throat with a high pitched moan, and Frank’s vision seemed to go white as he fell back against the sheets, his entire body tingling as he came down from the best orgasm Frank has probably ever had. He felt as if he had just run a marathon, and he had to focus to catch his breath.

 

Deftly, Gerard swallowed as though it had all took him by surprise. Frank tasted salty but not bad. Something lingering about it, probably sweetened by the experience, was nice. He stayed on his knees a moment longer while his brain struggled to catch up to everything he’d done without it.

 

Frank blindly fumbled his hands out for Gerard, gesturing for him to join him back on the bed. “C’mere,” Frank mumbled lazily, opening his eyes again and searching for Gerard.

 

Gerard climbed into bed with shaky hands and knees, and laid next to Frank. Nose to nose. Just like they’d been at the start of the night. He didn’t say anything- he didn’t have anything to say. Frank looked so wonderfully post-orgasm that Gerard didn’t want to mess with his bliss. Instead he thought long and hard about the future. And the past. He wondered what they’d do now, if he could escape this, if this was going to end badly. He still felt like he knew too little about Frank. He wondered if Frank felt just as confused as he did, but he didn’t want to say anything. Instead, he stared at the wall just sort of past Frank’s shoulder and wondered what would become of them tomorrow.

 

Frank lazily snuggled up to him, entangling their legs and lying his head on Gerard’s chest, breathing in his familiar scent, something Frank never wanted to get use to. He could feel how tense Gerard was, and he knew Gerard was probably overthinking things like he usually would, but Frank deemed all of that a problem for the morning. Even though the orgasm sobered him up almost entirely, he was too tired to think of logistics. All he knew was that he didn’t want to leave this position.

 

“Do you want to take my bed tonight?” Gerard asked, breaking the silence.

 

Frank looked up and his lips fell into a small frown. “You’re not sleeping here?” he asked, and to his irrational mind, Frank couldn’t help but feel slightly used, like Gerard only thought of this as a meaningless exchange of blowjobs. Hell, that had been the first time Frank ever went down on a guy.

 

“Well…“ Gerard began, thinking about his words very carefully, as well as what he actually wanted to say. He wanted to stay in bed with Frank. It was warm here and soft and Gerard was tired. Frank’s arms around him were heavy and welcome- like the comfort of a security blanket, or a favorite stuffed animal but better. The warmth on the inside you got from laying next to and being otherwise physically intimate with someone you like. But he didn’t know how to say that… so he didn’t. He let one of his hands skim up and down Frank’s back, as if he were mapping out everything about him for future knowledge. His skin was silky, if not slightly damp from their previous activities. Gerard could feel all Frank’s ribs through his skin and became away of how he must pale in comparison to Frank’s lithe frame. “No I mean… if it makes you uncomfortable… I can move somewhere,” he forced himself to clarify before anything could go terribly wrong.

 

Frank watched Gerard’s expression change as he started to overthink things again, and Frank bit his lip as he awkwardly untangled himself from Gerard. It was obvious the whole exchange was making Gerard uncomfortable, and Frank couldn’t ignore that there was so much they needed to figure out before they could simply share a bed together. “No… I won’t make you give up your bed, I can sleep in Mikey’s.” Frank was looking everywhere except for Gerard, and busied himself by finding his clothes off Gerard’s floor. “He usually sleeps like the dead anyway so I won’t wake him,” Frank attempted to joke, tugging on his boxers.

 

“No, wait-” Gerard interrupted, grabbing Frank by the wrist as he attempted to leave. Gerard saw everything playing out before his eyes. The awkward next morning. The week that followed. Frank never talking to him again. He bit the bullet because he needed to. He didn’t want Frank to leave him just yet. He didn’t want to be strangers. “Can you stay in bed with me? I want you to,” he explained, hoping that Frank would listen. “I just don’t want this to end badly.” In hindsight, Gerard could see this as potentially being the biggest mistake he’d ever made or the best risk he’d ever taken, depending on if Frank stayed with him tonight. In his bed. Between his sheets. Where the world didn’t really matter and couldn’t hurt them with the social conventions of relationships and other shit. “Please, Frankie. I just didn’t want to hurt you. And I feel like I might have.”

 

Frank froze, and looked over his shoulder to meet Gerard’s gaze, biting his lip. “You don’t want me to leave?” Frank clarified, sitting back on the bed, anxiously fidgeting with his tshirt. “Because I don’t… I don’t mind, I know what happened wasn’t too serious, and if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too,” Frank rambled on nervously. Of course he wanted to stay in bed with Gerard, but he didn’t even know if Gerard liked him in any way more than just his brother’s friend, and Frank knew the possibility that it all could’ve been a drunken mistake. “I… I don’t know about you, but I- I don’t regret what happened,” Frank added, looking down at his hands balled in his lap.

 

Gerard felt as though someone had forced him to swallow a tennis ball and it stayed lodged in his throat. Gently, as if picking up porcelain, he took Frank’s hand between his. He examined his fingers, from the knuckles to the callouses, and decided he liked the abrasive texture of the well-worn skin. Beaten hard by practice and purpose, now strong against breaking with strings. He kept staring, because it was easier to look at Frank’s hand than it was to look in his eyes. “Uhm,” Gerard began, trying to speak around the mental blockage. “I don’t regret it either. I just wish maybe it would have been more… special,” he said. “I wish we’d gotten to do it slowly. Like lovers do,” he said, pressing a kiss to Frank’s palm. “But I’m interested in you. As more than a friend. And I’d like you to stay. You make me… happy.”

 

Frank had gotten lost staring down at their hands, tracing Gerard’s palm with a calloused finger, transfixed, until his mind processed Gerard’s words, and he looked up with a smile he didn’t even try to hide. “I don’t want to leave if you don’t want me to,” Frank murmured honestly, his eyes zeroing in on Gerard’s lips, though he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to kiss them again, since they were both considerably more sober than before. “Thank you, by the way,” Frank started, “for stopping before things got too… before it went too far. You were right, I’d wanna be sober and be able to remember that if it happened,” Frank said, averting his gaze again.

 

“Yeah,” Gerard breathed, and even he himself wasn’t exactly sure what he was replying to. He was mostly happy that, under all the intoxicants and general mayhem of whatever had gone on, there was something fragile and new between them. He was scared to death if he were being truthful. His heart was beating in his teeth and his hands were practically shaking. He hadn’t been so vulnerable in a long time. “Oh. Just… yeah, don’t leave,” Gerard said, snapping back into the reality of what was going on in front of him. He locked eyes with Frank and something overcame him. Maybe common sense or instinct but he moved forward and kissed Frank gently. The way he deserved. Gerard let his hands come to rest around Frank’s hips, somewhere between the bone and his stomach. It was soft and warm and human. Sometimes Gerard forgot that about Frank. Underneath all the grit and personality, Frank was human. Gerard thought he outshone him by lightyears. He could spend a lifetime trying to keep warm in Frank’s light.

 

Frank automatically wrapped his arms around Gerard’s neck, moving his lips slowly against Gerard’s, mentally memorizing the feeling. He let out a shaky breath against Gerard’s lips before he daringly prodded his tongue against Gerard’s lips for access to his mouth. Gerard seemed to always taste like coffee and cigarettes and mint, and Frank was addicted to him.

 

Gerard opened his mouth as if he weren’t even thinking about it and let Frank explore while his fingers skimmed over the hem of his shirt.

 

Frank’s head was spinning and everywhere Gerard touched him, his skin seemed to burn, but in a good way. A great way. He instinctively moved to get closer to Gerard, and his hands tangled up in Gerard’s hair, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

 

Gerard let the moment weigh on him before pulling back to catch his breath. “I kind of don’t know why we haven’t done this earlier. I feel bound to you.”

 

Frank took the opportunity to catch his breath, resting his forehead against Gerard’s. “It’s probably because you would never come out of the basement,” Frank chuckled, barely able to see the hazel in Gerard’s eyes in the darkness. “That, and until now, you’ve only ever referred to me as a kid,” Frank accused.

 

“Shut up,” Gerard joked, winding his arms tighter around Frank and welcoming the pressure against his forehead. “You didn’t talk to me much either. You just stayed with Mikey and stole my cigarettes and drank by booze,” he joked, liking the way Frank’s breath hung between them, like they weren’t really apart at all.

 

“Oh fuck you,” Frank rolled his eyes, grinning. “That was all an excuse to talk to you, and you would just give me a cigarette and leave,” Frank teased, playfully shoving his shoulder.

 

Gerard mirrored Frank’s grin, and pulled him closer. “You aren’t really a kid,” he started, “you’re a different entity than Mikey, but it’s hard sometimes because I have a friend and you have friends and we aren’t really cohesive. And you won’t play DND with us,” Gerard whined. “You just bitch about stepping on my dice.”

 

“Oh, you mean your friend Bert?” Frank raised an eyebrow, only half-jokingly. “Mikey told me about him. How he would spend the night sometimes,” Frank looked up at him, trying to gauge his expression.

 

“Oh yeah we’re just friends,” Gerard said on reflex, although looking anywhere but Frank’s eyes. “Or uh, we were just friends. We didn’t date or anything. We were just kinda close and he was a super cool dude, y’know? We hung out a lot and yeah he spent the night a couple times, but usually it was because he was ranting about the government and stuff. But we weren’t dating. We’re just friends. How could we date?” Gerard asked, shrugging his shoulders to emphasize the point before giving Frank his most convincing smile and knowing deep down that Frank would never buy it.

 

Frank bit his lip as he watched Gerard’s face, and how he wouldn’t meet Frank’s eyes, and he sighed, looking back down at their hands. “But you want to date him?” Frank guessed, looking back up at Gerard, before shaking his head. “You don’t have to answer that, I’m not trying to be super invasive or anything,” Frank was quick to add. “It’s your personal life, it shouldn’t matter to me if you guys are a thing, but Gee- I’ve known you and Mikey long enough to know you both are horrible liars,” Frank said with a small smile.

 

“No it’s okay,” Gerard said, letting his forehead rest against Frank’s shoulder now and absently thinking about grabbing the blanket off the foot of the bed. “He wanted stuff. I wanted stuff. We hung out a lot. Our private life was tumultuous. He didn’t have any gray area. Things were either nothing or things he’d die for, y’know? And I’m not so good with words and sometimes I’m indecisive. He says I never wanted it like he did. I said we were never a thing. In the end it was just toxic,” Gerard confessed. “And that’s mostly the story,” he said, deciding to grab the blanket and pull it towards the both of them, wrapping one end around Frank. “But he’s not a huge part of my life anymore so you don’t have to worry about it.”

 

“So you didn't want to date him then?” Frank prodded, smiling gratefully at Gerard when he pulled the blanket up over them, and Frank pulled the blanket up to his chin, getting comfortable underneath it. “I mean, could you ever see yourself dating?” Frank added, looking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Or is it all just sex?” Frank asked bluntly. The curiosity was burning in him, and he wanted to know once and for all that if they would do this, if it would only be sex or not.

 

Gerard thought about it for a second, as if he himself didn’t know the answer. He wound his arms around Frank and found a sweet spot to put his nose- right under Frank’s hair, up by his ear. It smelled like Frank’s shampoo and Gerard thought that would be a nice way to fall asleep. “I want to date people. I certainly have dated people. Bert and I just weren’t compatible,” Gerard said, stroking the skin of Frank’s shoulder under the blanket. “It’s kind of complex though,” he yawned. “Maybe we should talk about it in the morning… over coffee and shame,” he joked. “Mikey is going to have a field day if he finds out y’know.”

 

“Yeah… sleep sounds good right now,” Frank murmured, as he reached a lazy hand up to run his fingers through Gerard’s greasy hair, resting his chin on the top of Gerard’s head. “I would suggest hiding it from Mikey, but you’re a terrible liar,” Frank teased, humming in content as he nuzzled up against Gerard and shut his eyes.

 

Gerard didn’t say anything else, he just grunted once to let Frank know he’d been listening and let his eyes drift shut. Frank was a nice weight in his arms. Soft and warm and a little bony, but he made Gerard feel like he was holding on to something that wouldn’t leave. That wouldn’t walk off in the night. Something about being with Frank felt right. If they were even together. But that was a problem for tomorrow. Or later. Or something. Tonight, he’d dream about his future and the way Frank’s hair smelled and doing weird things together. Tonight he was content.


	3. Chapter Three

Frank woke up late, since there was no sunlight to reach the basement and wake him up. He only had a mild hangover, and when he went to rub his eyes open, he noticed a mop of greasy black hair next to his face, star wars sheets, and Gerard lying next to him, their legs still tangled together. Frank remembered most of what had happened last night, but not exactly what led up to it, just that he had his first time doing anything with a guy. He felt his face heat up at the fact that it was Gerard, who he had fantasized for years about, even before he knew he was bisexual. Everything about last night was perfect in Frank’s mind, and he only wished he could’ve remembered more. He still had no idea what this meant for them, or if there even was a “them”, or if it was still just Frank and Mikey’s older brother. 

 

He took a few minutes to watch Gerard sleep- the way his mouth was slightly parted and how his chest rose and fell when he breathed- before Frank carefully untangled himself from Gerard and the sheets and slipping upstairs, in dire need of caffeine and advil, intent on making a full pot, enough for him, Gerard and Mikey.

 

Mikey was already in the kitchen, in his pajamas with his hair rumpled from sleep. He’d already started coffee, getting some sense that it’d quickly become the thing that everyone reached for. He stood in the doorway, with his arms crossed- an impression of a scorned mother. 

 

“Well, how nice of you to finally join me,” Mikey said, pushing up his glasses. “How was your night? Do you remember any of it?”

 

Frank sighed and rolled his eyes at Mikey while he walked past him to the coffee, not saying anything until he had a mug full of caffeine. “I’m fine, mom,” he said sarcastically.

 

Mikey squinted at Frank’s neck. “It at least looks like you had a good time by the marks he left on you.”

 

Frank took a sip of his coffee, and had to force himself not to choke on the liquid as he started to vaguely remember him and Gerard exchanging hickeys last night. He glared at Mikey over the rim of his mug, gulping down the liquid and pouring himself another cup before he finally turned back to face Mikey. “It was… fine,” he said with a faint smile. “Since you were such a lightweight, I’m not sure if you remember, but you were the one who encouraged me to do something about it,” Frank pointed out.

 

Mikey shifted an eyebrow around and adjusted it quizzically, looking at Frank as though he were being played for stupid. “Come on. You don’t have to lie to me. If you don’t tell me then I’ll get it from Gerard,” he said, pointing his finger at Frank’s chest, “and you know he’ll tell me everything. Especially if I withhold coffee from him,” he said. He hoped that Frank would open up to him. He hoped that this wouldn’t end badly and burn everyone that it included. “Come on Frank,” he pushed, gentler now. “Just tell me how it went. I know I pressured you into it. I just want to know,” he explained, setting his bowl of cereal in the sink and leaned back on the counter, hoping for a story. “Please.”

 

Frank narrowed his eyes at him. “I didn’t think you’d exactly want to know about your brother’s sex life,” Frank said distantly, trying to derail him, but sighed when Mikey was looking at him earnestly and Frank ran a hand through his own hair absently. “Okay, it was… good. Really good. He was really considerate and even though we were both drunk, he took things slow, and I’m glad that he did,” he started to say, before taking another long sip of his coffee. “He just… he told me about Bert, and how Bert wanted a relationship, but Gerard was indecisive and I- I don’t know, maybe I’m just being paranoid or thinking too far ahead, I just don’t want this to be an awkward one night stand,” he sighed.

 

Mikey reached over to smooth out a strand of Frank’s hair that seemed to be standing straight up. “He likes you,” Mikey comforted. Gently, he led Frank to a barstool and beckoned him to sit. “Just hear me out-” he began, putting on another pot of coffee and sitting back on the counter as he had earlier.


End file.
